Sound Advice

Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, July 5, 2016

Custom Protect Ear is proud to contribute to $18,000 worth of funds to the Fort McMurray Wildfire Destruction in Alberta. Raging fires wreaked havoc on the city of Fort McMurray, Alberta in the month of May, 2016. Starting May 1st the fire was estimated to cover 589,995 hectares after raging through Northern Alberta and into Saskatchewan destroying approximately 2,400 homes and buildings.

CPE Chairman, Jeff Goldberg and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Howard Raphael initiated the support through the combined efforts of the following:

CPE employees contributed a total of $3,000.00

CPE Chairman Jeff and CEO Howard matched that contribution to raise it to $6,000.00

CPE Donated this $6,000.00 to the Canadian Red Cross who matched the funds, bringing the total to $12,000

And the Canadian Government also matched the funds to bring the total to $18,000

“Cause related initiatives are important to CPE’s culture, and we are committed to assist where we can”, states Howard Raphael, CEO of Custom Protect Ear.

About The 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire

The 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, also known as the Horse River Fire, is a large wildfire burning in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada.

On May 1, 2016, the wildfire began southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta. On May 3, it swept through the community, destroying approximately 2,400 homes and buildings and forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in Albertan history. It continued to spread across northern Alberta and into Saskatchewan, consuming forested areas and impacting Athabasca oil sands operations until mid-June when rain helped firefighters to hold the fire. It may become the costliest disaster in Canadian history.

About Custom Protect Ear

Over three decades, Custom Protect Ear (CPE) has grown to be North America’s largest personalized industrial hearing protector manufacturer. CPE is the leader in providing effective, verifiable, and noise level matched hearing protection at a cost lower than alternative options. CPE devotes all of its research and expertise to the innovation of better hearing protection and has made significant technological advances. CPE serves over 4,500 companies and businesses around the globe; its certified mobile technicians do custom on-site fittings at their industrial sites. Custom Protect Ear has a registered ISO 9001: 2008 quality management system in place, which ensures CPE delivers the finest and most effective hearing protection available on the market.

Oil and Gas workers suffering from hearing loss

It is no secret what is happening in the oil and gas sector with all the cut backs and downsizing. The oil and gas sector has seen 100,000 job at the end of 2015, including 40,000 direct jobs, as a combination of policy uncertainties and low crude oil prices decimates the sector.

But that is not all we are seeing or hearing from the Oil and Gas sector……

According to Worksafe BC Oil and gas workers suffering hearing loss at double the rate of other noisy industries. Over one third show signs of hearing loss according to WorkSafeBC.

Drilling and pipeline work is noisy business and according to a new report it’s taking an alarming toll on the hearing of workers in B.C.’s gas and oil industry.

In a bulletin WorkSafeBC says those oil and gas patch workers are experiencing noise-induced hearing loss at a rate of 33 per cent, over twice the rate of workers in other noisy jobs.

“It raises a few alarm bells,” said Budd Phillips, regional prevention manager with WorkSafeBC in Fort St. John. “Approximately one-third of workers were starting to show signs of noise induced hearing loss.”

WorkSafe doesn’t know if ear protection is absent, improperly used, or just inadequate for all the noise. But Phillips says companies need to do a better job making sure their employees are protected. Workers often don’t use the ear protection they are given, said Art Jarvis of Energy Services B.C. — which speaks for 1,600 companies working in B.C.’s gas patch.

“Definitely if you’re working beside a frac crew with screaming engines, that’s a noisy location,” said Jarvis.

The report is based on tests conducted in 2014 and notes that young workers are most likely to forego hearing protection devices entirely, with 27 per cent of those under-21 reporting they didn’t use hearing protection. WorkSafeBC regulations requires that employers provide workers with CSA rated hearing protection and test them annually when workplace noise exceeds a certain exposure limit. Only 15 per cent of oil and gas workers were tested in 2014.

In times of changing economy and declining high prices sector, it is very important that companies and workers take the extra precautions to ensure they are compliant with safety standards. Today workers are forced to consider job diversification, so in doing so it is important to make sure your senses are in tact.

Hearing conservation standards in Oil Industry

The economics of the oil patch have seldom been better. But even with an abundance of jobs, there’s still a shortage of workers. In this economic environment, you have bigger things to worry about than your employees’ hearing.

But with Custom Protect Ear (CPE), your operations can gain productivity and look after your workers’ best interests at the same time. Specializing in personalized hearing protection, we’ve helped many companies, including Albion Sands and Imperial Esso, overcome performance limitations and maintain the highest hearing conservation standards.

From the very start, CPE assesses the noise levels and working conditions each person faces. Then we determine the best protectors for the individual and make the appropriate recommendations for optimal productivity, protection, and comfort.

Prevent Hearing Damage with The Grip

Usually, workers in grimy environments lean toward disposable earplugs even though they’re an inadequate form of protection. But disposable earplugs become filthy because of dirty hands. The fact that CPE’s dB Blockers are not disposable is a huge benefit. Your workers won’t have to remove or adjust their protectors during the day and grit grime doesn’t get in their ears. Plus Custom Protect Ear offers Intrinsically Safe Smart Muffs.

They can use The Grip to remove their protects without ever touching the earpiece. dB Blockers can be inserted with clean hands at the start of the day for the whole day. As well, they’re washable, they cost less to use and they’ve a solid defence against hearing damage.

In large facilities like petrochemical plants that have a low concentration of workers, radio communication keeps workers in touch with plant supervisors. When integrating dB Blockers with I/S radios, CPE combines dB Blockers and intrinsically safe communication connections. This facilitates and enhances radio communication, thereby, avoiding misunderstandings and reducing the need to repeat conversation. People can also talk to each other or hear radio calls without removing their protectors, while staying protected at all times.

Upholding Conservation Standards at the Oil Patch

dB Blockers also feature a coloured exterior, so supervisors can immediately see if workers are wearing them. For enormous oil sands plants with thousands of employees, upholding hearing conservation standards becomes much easier.

With your workers’ hearing properly protected by dB Blockers, you can rise above all these challenges, enabling you to establish better employee relations to attract more workers and gain further productivity.